The Kcom Stadium before during the Premier League match between Hull City and Watford at the KCOM Stadium, Kingston upon Hull, England on 22 April 2017. Photo by Craig Zadoroznyj.

Former Hull City boss Mike Phelan has joined Australian side Central Coast Mariners as their sporting director , as confirmed on his Twitter account.

The 55-year-old is back in football after a lengthy spell out of the game. He was sacked by Hull City in January 2017 and has been out of work since then.

Phelan played for the likes of Burnley, Norwich City, Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion in his playing days as a right-back. He also gained one cap for England.

He went into coaching after retiring in 1995 and held various coaching roles at Norwich City, Blackpool and Stockport County before joining Manchester United in 1999.

Phelan’s first role at United was the assistant manager to their reserves but he worked his way up to become their first-team coach and assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at Old Trafford.

He left Manchester United in 2013 when Sir Alex retired. David Moyes was his replacement but he brought in his own backroom staff which meant Phelan departed the Premier League giants after a successful 14 year stint there.

Phelan then moved to Norwich City in 2014 as their first-team coach but only spent a season with the Canaries before joining Steve Bruce at Hull City. He was then appointed the Tigers’ manager in 2016 after Bruce resigned from his post after their promotion to the Premier League.

Mike Phelan’s stint in charge of Hull lasted just five months but it was a very difficult job for him. He is now back in the game with Central Coast Mariners and it is a great opportunity for him.